Ex Wives
by Dr. Michaela Quinn
Summary: Daphne is hurt and upset when she learns that her newlywed husband Niles has been having coffee dates with his ex-wife Mel for months without telling her.
1. Mel's Call & Lying to Daphne

Doctor Niles Crane was sitting in his office listening to another person whine and complain about their problems. He sighed.

"Well I believe our session is over. See you next week." Niles said.

"Thank you so much for seeing me on such short notice Dr. Crane." The man responded. He and Niles stood and he walked to the door.

"It's not a problem." Niles stated. The man walked out of the room and Niles sighed loudly. The phone rang twice and Niles answered it.

"What do you want?" Niles asked.

"Niles?" The familiar voice sounded hurt.

"Daphne?" Niles questioned.

"Who'd you expect?" Daphne asked.

"I'm sorry Daphne. I've had a rough day." Niles replied.

"Oh. Well, I was calling to see what you want for dinner." Daphne said.

"I don't care. Did you invite dad to eat with us?" Niles asked.

"I'll call and ask him and Doctor Crane if they want to come." Daphne replied. "Bye Niles." Niles hung up the phone and walked back to his desk. The phone rang again. Niles answered it.

"Did you forget something my love?" Niles asked.

"My love? Really Niles?" The voice on the other end questioned in disgust.

"Mel?" Niles asked.

"Who else were you expecting?" Mel questioned.

"Nobody." Niles lied.

"Oh-kay." Mel said. "Well I want you to meet me at the coffee shop in twenty minutes."

"Mel, I'm married and divorced from you. You can't hold anything over me anymore." Niles said.

"Oh Daphne, I forgot all about her. Well, anyway. Just be there." Mel replied before she hung up. Flabbergasted, Niles hung up the phone. He picked it up and dialed.

"Daphne, I'm so sorry. A patient just walked in. I have to take him for a session, then I will go pick up my own dinner. There is no reason for you to wait and make everybody eat a late and cold dinner. I love you." Niles said to the answering machine. He hung up the phone and walked out of his office.


	2. Daphne Worries about Niles

"Dr. Crane?" Daphne asked. Frasier looked up from his newspaper.

"Yes Daphne?" Frasier asked.

"Do you think something is going on with Niles? Every time I talk about dinners or just getting out for a little while, or even just spending some time together he has something he has to do instead. Do you think that he doesn't want to be with me anymore?" Daphne questioned. Martin turned around from in his chair.

"Daphne, you don't have anything to worry about. I know Niles; he was in love with you for seven years before he asked you to marry him. He loves you. He would do anything for you. Don't worry about that." Martin stated.

"Thank you Martin. I really needed that boost of confidence." Daphne said and she walked into the kitchen.

"Dad? What do you think about Niles? He and Daphne did just get married." Frasier said.

"I think that maybe for Niles the grass wasn't as green on the other side as he thought it'd be. But I'm not sure about that necessarily." Martin said.

"That could be. I just don't think that's Niles." Frasier replied.

"Well what is Niles?" Martin questioned.

[

"Mel, I can't meet with you anymore. I'm afraid that Daphne is starting to catch on and I can only imagine what she'd say if she knew I was here with you." Niles stated.

"Oh Niles, what's the matter with you? We were married. So what if we're divorced. Who says I didn't still love you?" Mel asked. A few people started to walk over and Mel grabbed Niles and kissed him. The people passed them and Mel let go of him.

"What was that?" Niles asked. "I am a married man! You can't be doing this all the time! I'm not coming back here."

"Oh yes you are. If you don't I'll call your Daphne up and tell her that you asked about rekindling our relationship and tell her that we've been having an affair the last few months." Mel said.

"You wouldn't." Niles stated. Mel looked at him.

"Oh wouldn't I?" Mel asked.


	3. The Dinner

**A/N: I'm sorry for the delay between chapters two and three; but I can assure you this is truly where the meat of this story starts. =) Hope you enjoy.**

Daphne was pacing the floor in Frasier's apartment because Niles was late for another dinner with his family. Martin was watching T.V. when he turned to face her.

"Daphne, why don't you sit down? I'm sure that he just got stuck with a patient. It happens all the time. Those whiners come in complaining and he has to stay." Martin said. Daphne looked at him and sighed.

"You're probably right. I'm just putting too much thought into this." Daphne sat on the couch. Frasier walked in and put the phone down.

"I just made a reservation for the four of us. I called Niles and left a message for him to meet us there. I don't want to wait here another minute. Let's go." Frasier ushered Martin and Daphne to get up.

"Oh come on! They're in the bottom of the seventh!" Martin exclaimed.

"Dad that game will be here when we get back. Let's go." Frasier said.

"Oh alright." Martin stood up and walked over to the door. Eddie rushed and jumped up on the couch and watched all of them walking out.

"Eddie." Frasier said in a warning tone and glared at him. They walked out the door and stepped into the elevator.

[

Niles and Mel were sitting together, alone, in the middle of a restaurant.

"What do you want from me Mel? I should be at home with my Daphne." Niles said. Mel scoffed.

"Niles, I don't believe you. You act like you're head over heels for this girl. She's going to be a thing of the past soon enough." Mel stated. Niles jaw dropped.

"Is that what you want? You want her to leave me? Why?"

"I never said that. I know that you loved her before we even got married. I'm not doing anything wrong here. Just having dinner with my ex-husband." Mel said. Then she leaned over and kissed Niles. He jumped up out of his seat and almost knocked over the waiter who had come up behind him. Mel laughed.

"Is there a problem sir?" The waiter asked Niles. Niles fixed his suit and then looked at the waiter.

"No." Niles paused. "There isn't any problem at all." He sat back down. "I really need to get out of here. Just tell me what you want and let me leave." Niles hissed at his ex-wife. She just laughed and picked up her menu. Niles felt his phone vibrate. He picked it up and looked at the caller ID. It was Frasier. He couldn't pick it up now. He didn't want there to be any kind of chance that this news could get back to Daphne. The last thing in the world that he wanted to do was hurt her.

[

When they got to the restaurant, Frasier still hadn't heard from Niles.

"I'm starting to worry about Niles, Frasier." Daphne said. (**A/N: Didn't Daphne start calling Frasier "Frasier" sometime around when she and Niles got married?**)

"He'll be here Daphne. He would never miss a free meal." Frasier flagged the waiter and he walked over to them. "Crane." The waiter nodded and they started to walk. Frasier saw a familiar couple across the room. He stopped dead in his tracks and gasped. Frasier saw that it was Niles and Mel!

"What?" Martin asked after he ran into the back of his son. Frasier turned and tried to block Daphne from seeing him.

"Daphne, don't you think you should go to the ladies' room before sitting down for dinner?" Frasier asked. Daphne looked at him with a mystified look.

"Why? I don't have to go." Daphne paused and chuckled. "I guess it's worth a try." Daphne walked towards the bathroom.

"What in the world is wrong with you?" Martin exclaimed. Frasier moved so that Martin could see Mel and Niles.

"I couldn't let Daphne see that!" Frasier pointed in that direction. Martin took a step closer and then let out a whistle.

"What do you think they're doing here?" Martin asked.

"I don't know! But I do know that we cannot let Daphne see them!"

"Let me see who?" Daphne asked walking up behind Frasier making him jump a mile.

"Where did you come from?" Frasier demanded to know.

"The stalls were full so I decided to wait a little bit. Now what are you trying to hide you two?" Daphne asked and looked around Frasier. At first, she doesn't see them but as she continues to glance around the restaurant she finally does. A hurt look crosses Daphne's face as she walked over to their table.

"Hello Niles." Daphne said. Niles looked at her.

"Hi Daphne." He paused. "Daphne!" Niles jumped up. "My darling Daphne. What are you doing here?"

"I'm having dinner with Martin and your brother. Where you should be too. But now I see why you weren't answering your phone." Daphne crossed her arms. Mel chuckled.

"Didn't he tell you?" Mel asked and picked up her nap. A smile spread across her face.

"Tell me what?" Daphne questioned.

"Nothing Daphne. It's not true." Niles replied.

"Niles Crane; I'm so mad at you right now I don't even want to talk to you!" Daphne stormed out of the dining area. Niles rushed up to Martin and Frasier.

"Daphne!" He called after her. Then he looked at them. "Why didn't you stop her?"

"Stop her? How could we? We tried." Martin said.

"Well now she thinks something's going on that's not."

"What is going on?" Martin questioned.

"I'll explain later. After I've had a long talk with Daphne." Niles walked out of the restaurant in search of his wife.


	4. Manchester

**A/N: Last chapter; I'm sorry it's taken so long to update.**

At three-thirty in the morning, there was a knock on Frasier's door. After a while of pounding, Frasier walked in and opened the door.

"Daphne! What are you doing here?" He scolded. Her shoulders were shaking.

"I can't go home. I can't see Niles again. He's seeing her and he won't talk to me. I'm not going back over there." Frasier hugged her as she cried.

"Daphne, you have to go. That's your home." She looked up at him.

"Can I stay with you? Just for a while?" Frasier nodded.

"Your bedroom is still open." He led her to the bedroom and then went back to his room. Frasier wasn't sure if he'd get to sleep, but he knew he needed to talk to Niles.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Frasier called Niles from the station. He didn't want Daphne to know he was calling. Frasier was sure that she knew he would have to call, but he didn't want to do it in front of her so soon. After the show, he called Niles.<p>

"Niles?" He asked when his brother picked up the phone.

"Frasier?" He questioned.

"Do you know who came to my apartment early this morning?"

"Daphne." He said and sighed. "I'm sorry Frasier."

"I just wanted you to know where she was."

"Thank you Frasier. I figured she would end up with you and dad." Frasier nodded.

"Well come get her!" Frasier exclaimed.

"I will tonight, after dinner."

"What?"

"Well, I have to meet with Mel again." He sighed. "But don't tell Daphne. I will come for her later. She won't be there a minute longer than she has to be."

* * *

><p>"I'll make dinner." Daphne said. Martin stood up and followed her into the kitchen.<p>

"That's ridiculous." Martin replied. "You're a guest here in this house."

"You need to eat Martin." She responded and started pulling food out of the cabinet and refrigerator. "You and Frasier will eat good again while I'm here." Then the door opened.

"Dad?" Frasier called out. "Are you here?" Marin walked out of the kitchen.

"Fras?" Martin questioned. Frasier moved closer to him.

"Is Niles here?" Martin shook his head.

"No, why would Niles be here?" Frasier sighed.

"I called him." Martin scoffed.

"Niles and Daphne will work out their own problems Frasier."

"They will with our help. I am a trained psychiatrist." There was a knock on the door. Martin glared at Frasier before Frasier walked over and opened it.

"Is she here?" Niles asked and Martin nodded. Daphne walked out of the kitchen.

"Who's here" She looked over at Niles. "Niles." Daphne turned away, but Niles walked after her.

"Daphne," he said. She turned to face him with her arms crossed. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have kept my meeting with Mel from you."

"Listen here; you can have Mel or me; but not both. I'm heading home."

"Home?"

"To Manchester." Daphne turned to walk towards her bedroom.

"What's in Manchester?" Niles' question stopped Daphne and she turned around to look at him.

"Not you." She replied and walked out of the room.

* * *

><p>Frasier and Niles stood in awe.<p>

"I can't believe she left!" Martin walked over.

"You let the best thing in your life walk out of here without even a goodbye." Martin said.


	5. Sharing

**A/N: Decided I couldn't leave this story without a proper ending…. So after years of writing(and waiting), this is finally the last chapter! =)**

"What are you going to do?" Frasier asked looking at Niles. He sighed.

"First I'll tell Mel it's over and then I'll go to Manchester and bring Daphne home." Martin walked over to them.

"Why don't you just jump on the first plane and go get her?" Martin asked.

'I don't know dad," Niles replied, "she was pretty upset when she left."

"But she wants you to go after her." Niles looked at his dad.

"How do you know?" Martin leaned on his cane.

"Niles, I learned a lot about women after being married to your mother," he paused, "now go. If you wait too much longer she'll have a permanent residence over there again."

"She wouldn't do that," Niles stated completely missing his dad's point, "she said she doesn't want to be over there anymore." Martin rolled his eyes. "But shouldn't I talk to Mel? If I go get Daphne this whole thing is just going to continue? I'm tired of this charade of a life she's putting me through. But not just me, she's hurting Daphne and I want her to know that." Martin looked at him with gentle eyes and a soft tone.

"Niles, Daphne has felt for a long time that you put her on the back burner because of Mel. Maybe to some degree you have, but don't this time. Let Daphne feel like the important one because you went after her. She'll feel better about it and you can deal with Mel later." Niles nodded.

"Alright, I'll do it!" He said firmly.

"Do you need a ride to the airport Niles?" Frasier asked and he looked at his older brother.

"What, are you kidding? I'm not leaving my car at the airport!" Frasier nodded irritated.

"Goodbye dad." He opened the door and they walked out to the elevator.

"Do you really think I'm doing the right thing Frasier?" Niles asked.

"I think dad's right, you've always put Daphne's needs under your stuff with Mel. Daphne is your wife now, you should go after her." Niles nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll go," he paused, "but I have to go home first. I need to pack a suitcase."

"You won't be gone long, why don't you go in what you're wearing?" Frasier asked practically. Niles scoffed and looked at his brother.

"I will not!"

* * *

><p>Daphne sat at the airport crying. She was thinking about Niles and their relationship. For so many years she had wanted to be with him, but he was married and then she was dating and engaged; so they had known each other almost ten years before they got together. For all that time to be wasted because he'd rather be with his ex-wife. Things couldn't get any worse. Daphne's shoulders shook as she sat on the seat and cried. Finally, they called her flight number on the intercom and she took her carry-on bag and got onto the plane. It was going to be a long flight but she was ready to be home. She couldn't believe how Niles had responded to her leaving. She hoped he would have come to the airport; but as she looked around she didn't see anything; so Daphne took the step through the terminal to get onto the plane. She thought about the day she saw Niles with HER. She was so angry and upset that he'd do that.<p>

_"Hi Daphne." He paused. "Daphne!" Niles jumped up. "My darling Daphne. What are you doing here?"_

_"I'm having dinner with Martin and your brother. Where you should be too. But now I see why you weren't answering your phone." Daphne crossed her arms. Mel chuckled._

_"Didn't he tell you?" Mel asked and picked up her napkin. A smile spread across her face._

_"Tell me what?" Daphne questioned._

_"Nothing Daphne. It's not true." Niles replied._

_"Niles Crane; I'm so mad at you right now I don't even want to talk to you!" Daphne stormed out of the dining area. _

Was she right in what she did? Should she have left the dining room without talking to him? But she was so upset that he had decided to eat dinner with her instead of being with his family when he specifically told her that he wouldn't be home for dinner. He lied about his whereabouts and didn't tell her about what was going on. She would have taken it better if Niles would have told her, even though she wasn't happy with the idea. Daphne had run to Frasier's house. She should have known that Niles would find her eventually. Their last conversation would stay in her head forever. Daphne had just walked out of the kitchen when she heard Frasier talking to someone, but she couldn't see him. When she looked up, she saw Niles standing there.

_"Who's here?" She looked over at Niles. "Niles." Daphne turned away, but Niles walked after her._

_"Daphne," he said. She turned to face him with her arms crossed. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have kept my meeting with Mel from you."_

_"Listen here; you can have Mel or me; but not both. I'm heading home."_

_"Home?"_

_"To Manchester." Daphne turned to walk towards her bedroom._

_"What's in Manchester?" Niles' question stopped Daphne and she turned around to look at him._

_"Not you." She replied and walked out of the room._

She knew now that she had been too harsh with him; but there wasn't any way that she could go back now. On her way to Manchester, she would talk to him when she got there. Daphne was angry with him, but she loved him and wanted him to know that; provided she ever saw him again.

* * *

><p>Niles stepped off the plane at Heathrow airport and pulled the paper out of his pocket. He had only been to Daphne's family's house in England once before. He couldn't remember how to get there; especially because he was so worked up. He wanted to find his wife and tell her he loved her and wanted her to go home with him. When he walked around a corner, he saw a woman sitting on a chair that looked like Daphne from the back. Her beautiful hair was the same shade of brown as Daphne. When he walked closer to her, he realized it wasn't Daphne. His shoulders dropped in disappointment. He was about to make a turn when he heard a voice behind him.<p>

"Niles?" He stopped and looked around. Unfortunately, Niles couldn't tell where the voice had come from because the airport was so crowded. Finally, Daphne's face appeared in the crowd and he smiled. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I came to talk to you," he replied. They walked away from the crowd and found a chair by one of the gates to sit in. She looked at him.

"You could have called. I was heading home."

"But I wanted to be with you. I had to see your face when I told you things with Mel were over. That you are the woman I want, the woman I always wanted." Daphne smiled.

"Are you sure?" Niles took her hands into his.

"Yes, I've been sure most of my life. I love you Daphne."

"You flew all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to tell me that?"

"I'd fly all the way around the world for you." Daphne smiled again, but then she got serious.

"But Mel-" she started. Niles shook his head.

"Things with Mel are over. I shouldn't have met her without talking to you." Daphne nodded.

"You shouldn't have. I love you Niles, and I want to be there for you; but you can't keep things from me. We have to work together."

"And I won't again. If you come home, I'll share everything with you. I want you to give our marriage and my love for you a second chance." Daphne looked into his eyes.

"So you've traveled all the way across the ocean and sat in the airport to talk to me. Maybe I can come back and try things again."

"Would you consider that?" Niles questioned.

"What other choice do I have? I could go home to my family," Daphne shuddered and Niles chuckled.

"I love you." He kissed her cheek. "I have to go call Frasier."

"Why?" Daphne asked looking at him.

"I have to tell him that my beautiful bride has agreed to come home."

**The End**

**A/N: I find it interesting that my last chapter is also my longest chapter :D Hope you enjoyed it =) **


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